


Canine Introspection

by AlexiaBlackbriar13



Series: Wolves Chasing Starlings [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst, Baseball Night, Dogs, Emotional Conversations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, F/M, Fertility Issues, Infertility, Team Bonding, Team Feels, Team as Family, Werewolves, Werewolves Turn Into Actual Wolves, Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 18:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16124249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaBlackbriar13/pseuds/AlexiaBlackbriar13
Summary: A team bonding night at Felicity's apartment to watch a Starling Rockets baseball game both starts and ends with tension.Starts because of Felicity's dog Fenrir's firm dislike of his owner's vigilante werewolf boyfriend.Ends because of a sensitive and devastating revelation about something Oliver has been keeping secret from Felicity, that places their relationship in jeopardy.





	Canine Introspection

**Author's Note:**

> please read the tags for trigger warnings
> 
> i was going to post this in fragments but it's a bit too long for that
> 
> you do not need to read 'you are the wolf' to read this. all you need to know is that oliver is a werewolf with the ability to fully shift into a wolf, and is the alpha of starling city. both diggle and felicity work with him on team arrow and oliver and felicity are in a relationship.
> 
> hope you enjoy!!!

Felicity didn’t assume that her dog would become a problem until he and Oliver met. Then again, one could never truly anticipate how a dog would react to her boyfriend who could shift into a wolf, or how a werewolf would react to his partner’s pet.

Fenrir, Felicity’s Border Collie-Samoyed mix dog, was a handsome, three-year-old sweetheart. He had a gleaming black coat, with white fur down his chest and around his scruff, and a white stripe that went from between his eyes and muzzle. His ears were always pricked and alert; his blushy midnight tail that was always wagging accompanied his kind, hazel eyes to make Fenrir appear like the ultimate cutie-pie. Felicity had rescued him from the streets after he had been abandoned as a puppy, mere days after finishing MIT. Ever since then, Fenrir had become fiercely protective of his owner. Felicity never treated him like a dog - she treated him like a person, like her loving brother and best friend.

Unfortunately, when Felicity first moved to Starling City, she wasn’t able to take Fenrir with her. He remained at home in Vegas with her mother. Donna adored dogs, so didn’t mind caring for him. In fact, Fenrir was the perfect guard dog. He appeared cute and cuddly enough to look like he wasn’t a threat, but cross him or his owners and he would attack with all the vicious spirit of a coyote. It had been two years since that day Felicity had originally taken Fenrir in. Now that Felicity was in a stable financial situation, had a permanent apartment and was maintaining a steady relationship with Oliver (also meaning she had a room at the Queen mansion), she was able to give the Collie-mix a proper home.

She’d taken several days off work just to fuss over Fenrir, getting him acquainted with her apartment, the local parks, and just the city in general. Fenrir had acted a little bit depressed at first, as all dogs did after a major home move, but now he was reunited with Felicity, he perked up within a few days, and seemed even more protective of her. The blonde didn’t realize how much she missed the dog until she had him back in her life.

Fenrir was a very sociable, kind and intelligent dog; he could tell when somebody was worth trusting, and had a keen sense for good people. It was for this very reason that while Felicity was a little worried about them meeting, she also expected the Collie-mix to like her archer werewolf boyfriend.

That, however, was not the case.

He absolutely _despised_ Oliver.

Felicity, Oliver, and Diggle had arranged to have a night off vigilante duties and spend it at Felicity’s apartment, eating take-out and watching a baseball game on TV. If Diggle was surprised that Felicity was reasonably interested in sports, he hid it very well. Oliver, of course, already knew about the blonde’s secret love of baseball - had even taken her to a couple of Starling Rockets games. Due to the wolf being held up by his mother and sister at home, he was going to arrive late, so offered to pick up the Chinese take-out on his journey there.

Fenrir had decided pretty early on that Diggle was tolerable. At first, the dog had been reserved, growling slightly and raising his hackles when Diggle brushed too close to his owner, but after Felicity knelt down and coaxed the dog to come and sniff Diggle’s hands, Fenrir didn’t mind him as much. In fact, Felicity would go so far to say that the Border Collie-mix actually liked the bodyguard; when Diggle settled on her couch with a beer, Fenrir hopped up beside him and stared at him for a moment before placing his head in the man’s lap.

The blonde dashed to answer the door the moment the doorbell rang. Opening the door, she grinned at Oliver, who stood in normal civilian clothing with two take-out bags in his hands, beaming back at her. She knew that Oliver had a small habit of sniffing her and scent-marking her every time they met up - he seemed even more eager to do it now they were dating - so opened the door fully and allowed the wolf to step inside.

But Oliver didn’t step inside. Instead, he froze and lifted his head, nostrils flaring as he scented the air and then, when his head dropped again, he bared his teeth with a rumble, sounding uneasy and uncertain, shifting on his feet.

“You never told me you had a dog,” he said to Felicity, eyes narrowed.

“Well, you never asked,” she threw back at him. “I just got him back, he’s been living with my mom for a few years. Don’t worry, Fenrir’s a sweetheart, he’ll love you. Come in.” When Oliver didn’t budge, she rolled her eyes and urged, “Come on, Oliver! Stop standing in my doorway like a creep and get inside. I know you like dogs, you told me so yourself - and considering you technically _are_ a canine, it will be fine.”

Finally, the archer entered and Felicity was able to close and lock the door behind him. Taking the take-out bags from him, she marched into the kitchen and shoved the tin foil containers into her warmed up oven in preparation for serving later on.

On strolling back into her living room, Felicity gasped at the sight that met her. Fenrir had leaped off the sofa and was full-out snarling, hackles fully raised, ears flat against his skull as he faced off against the shifted wolf opposite him, who was in an equally aggressive stance, fangs bared in a lethal growl. The much larger wolf dwarfed the Border Collie-mix, almost twice his size. Oliver’s pelt was bristling furiously, and at his full height towered tall over the three-foot tall dog. Any lesser canine would have immediately submitted to the Alpha, but Fenrir, being the stubborn, protective dog he was, was refusing to back off.

Diggle had retreated to the corner for his own safety and was watching with wide eyes. “Do something!” he hissed at Felicity, as she raced into the room to try and break up the confrontation.

Grabbing Fenrir by his collar, Felicity barked authoritatively, “Both of you back down! Fenrir, _no, bad dog!_ And Oliver, _back off this instant!_ Stop it, both of you!”

Fenrir relented and whined, his tail wagging as he turned, pushing his owner down onto her back with an ‘oof!’. He planted his paws on her shoulders and licked her face in concern. This only, it seemed, made Oliver even more confrontational as the wolf lunged forwards, gnashing his canines together angrily at the sight of Felicity being pinned down.

“ _Oliver!_ ” Felicity snapped.

Instantly, the wolf recoiled, circling back around behind her couch and appearing back in human form with a cold glare, a growl still being held at the back of his throat. “He started it!” he snarled.

“Fenrir wouldn’t start anything!” Felicity retorted, rolling onto her knees and taking hold of Fenrir by his collar to stop the dog from advancing on Oliver, stroking down the Collie-mix’s side. “He’s harmless!”

“Harmless!?” Oliver cried out, pointing his finger accusingly at the dog. “He was threatening to rip my throat out for even entering the property! Even after I explained to him I was your boyfriend! If anything, your dog needs some serious anger management therapy!”

Felicity wanted to shout back, annoyed at the archer’s tone, but bit it back and instead puzzled over the wolf’s words. Oliver had said the word ‘explained’ as if he had been speaking with her dog. “Are you saying that you can talk to Fenrir?” he asked slowly.

“Of course.” Oliver was still glowering at Fenrir, standing behind the couch as if that might offer him some strategic advantage. “There’s a universal language for all breeds. But where your dog learned some of those swear words, I’ll never know. He’s probably the most foul-mouthed canine I’ve ever met!”

As if in response to that, Fenrir unleashed a hefty warning bark and another snarl, whimpering when Felicity yanked on his collar and told him firmly to leave it alone. Oliver pointed at her dog, raising his eyebrows, as if Fenrir had just made point of his accusation. Diggle looked equally as perplexed as Felicity, and when the IT girl glanced sideways at him, he shrugged.

“Alright,” Felicity said slowly. “You both have issues with each other. But Oliver, you are the educated, evolved canine in this situation. So you are going to try and sort out these issues. So do you mind telling me why Fenrir has such a problem with you?”

“Where do I start?” Oliver chuckled darkly.

Fenrir started growling again and Felicity whacked him over his snout. The Border Collie-mix cut off with a whimper and, realizing that they weren’t going to solve this with both canines in the same room, she dragged her dog into her bedroom, gave him a chew and told him to stay on her bed, closing the door behind her. When she turned to survey Oliver again, she was a little surprised to see that the tension had leaked out of the wolf’s shoulders and he looked much more at ease now.

“Sit down,” she ordered. Oliver did so begrudgingly. “Now, explain please.”

Oliver sighed heavily, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know. He doesn’t like the fact that I’m an established Alpha? I smell like an Alpha even in human form, so that probably bugs him. Also, ah…” He cut off, looking a little sheepish. “I think he recognized that it was my scent that you’ve been coming home covered in over the last couple of days. He… he thinks that you’re my mate.”

“Oh my god.” Felicity rubbed her temples. “Are you actually telling me that my dog is _jealous_ that you’re my boyfriend?”

“I wouldn’t go as far to say jealous,” Oliver hurried to add. “Maybe mistrustful? Suspicious? Maybe a little bit envious. But not jealous. He… wants you.”

“He’s trying to claim me as his?” Felicity questioned.

Glaring at the floor, the wolf muttered angrily, “He can’t have you. You’re _mine_. Part of my pack. My girlfriend.”

Felicity stared at him. “Oliver, are _you_ jealous?”

“What? No!” he denied instantly, but there was a feral, golden glint to his blue eyes. “He’s just - he was saying -” He huffed furiously, shaking his head. “He was being _so rude_. Not just about me but - what he was implying about you as well.”

Okay, now that caught Felicity’s curiosity. “What was he saying?” she asked.

Oliver glared towards her bedroom door, where Fenrir was currently holed up, and muttered, “He was saying that you and I are only together so that you can bear my pups.”

Diggle let out a snicker, but immediately stopped himself by putting a hand over his mouth. The wolf grumbled to himself under his breath annoyedly. Glancing between the two men, Felicity sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Okay, that was a little insulting for her dog to have said.

“What did you tell him in response?” she questioned.

Oliver shot her a look. “That it wasn’t true, obviously. But dogs have different… _romantic_ customs. It’s impossible for them to understand what love is. Dogs only ever find a partner so they can have puppies together. The male gets the female pregnant and then they split. Canines don’t have relationships. Fenrir can’t possibly comprehend us just being together because we love each other.”

Well, that was frustrating. “Do you think you would be able to explain to him?”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “I don’t think he’d stop swearing at me long enough for me to have the chance.”

What did a girl have to do to eat Chinese, watch baseball and have a relaxing night with her two best friends? Canines were so frustrating, she decided. Canines in dog form and in werewolf form. Both Oliver and Fenrir needed to stop being so ridiculous and give up this stupid claiming dispute over who she belonged to.

“Alright, Oliver, I’m going to let Fenrir out, and you’re both going to act like mature adult canines and _talk_. You’re going to explain our relationship to him and then the two of you are going to come to an agreement that I’m _not_ for fighting over.”

The wolf’s face was screwed up with distaste. “Only if he apologizes for cursing at me,” he muttered.

“Oliver,” Felicity said warningly.

“You’d be upset too if you heard what he was saying.”

“Who is the educated and evolved canine here?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Lowering his eyes, the archer kicked the back of her couch as he answered grumpily, “I am.”

“Yes, you are. Now shift back while I go and get Fenrir.” She glanced over at Diggle. “Do you mind helping me mediate?”

“Not at all,” Diggle replied. “You control your dog and -” His eyes flicked over to Oliver amusedly, “I’ll keep this one on a leash?”

“Try and put a collar and leash on me, and I’ll bite your hand off,” the wolf said bluntly.

“You know, you’ve threatened to do that at least five times, and you’ve never followed through.”

Oliver narrowed his eyes. “I’m peckish this evening,” he snapped. “A couple of your fingers would make for a nice appetizer before the Chinese.”

“Which is getting cold,” Felicity reminded them. “Let’s get this done.”

The Collie-mix was already waiting at the door with his ears flat against his skull and lips rolled back in a faint snarl when Felicity opened the door. She kept a firm grasp on Fenrir’s collar as she led him out into the living room - where Oliver was waiting in wolf form, sitting on his haunches. The wolf stood as soon as Fenrir got close to him, sandy fur bristling. Diggle stepped forward and placed a hand on the giant predator’s shoulder, which Oliver growled at, but he didn’t lash out, which was a good sign.

“Okay, you two,” Felicity looked between the two canines. “Time for you to talk.”

Oliver blinked at her to acknowledge her request and turned back to Fenrir, twitching his whiskers and swiveling his eyes as he rumbled lowly. Fenrir, however, only viciously snarled back at the wolf’s attempt at communication. Visibly rolling his eyes in exasperation, Oliver tried to wheel around to stride off but Diggle stopped him, bumping the wolf’s side with his hip to force him to turn back. Felicity winced, watching as Oliver crouched down and tried to approach Fenrir again, but was met by a sharp snap of the Collie-mix’s teeth.

“Hey,” she yanked on Fenrir’s collar, her tone admonishing. “Be nice to my boyfriend, please. Oliver’s making an effort, you can at least for the same for him.”

Fenrir sniffed the wolf, still growling but less loudly now. His tail tucked beneath his legs as the two canines stared at each other, using body language and short little yips, whines, and barks to speak. After what seemed like hours, and in actuality was only a couple of minutes, Fenrir whimpered and rolled onto his back to expose his belly to the wolf. Felicity released the dog’s collar and kept a cautious watch as Oliver placed one of his paws on Fenrir’s chest, claws sheathed. She could tell that the wolf was asserting Alpha dominance over the smaller dog. When Fenrir returned to his feet, he immediately started licking respectfully at Oliver’s muzzle. The pair of canines seemed to have reached an accord.

“You two okay now?” Felicity asked.

Oliver nodded. He jumped up onto the couch and settled down, taking up the entire length of it due to his size. Fenrir trotted off back into the bedroom and when Felicity peeked inside curiously, she was happily surprised to see he was curled up and taking a nap on his blanket.

The archer was back in human form and was dishing out the Chinese with Diggle’s help when she got back. She immediately strode up to him and hugged Oliver tightly from behind. The wolf turned his head towards her, lips twitching up into a warm smile. She let go of him so that he could swivel around and pull her into a proper embrace. Having Oliver’s arms wrapped around her made Felicity feel safe, secure and loved, and she buried her face into his shirt with a pleased sound.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, “For working things out with Fenrir.”

“He cares about you, just like I do - well, the platonic version,” Oliver shrugged.

She laughed softly against his collarbone. “What did you tell him to get him to calm down? Did you somehow convince him you and I won’t be having puppies anytime soon?”

It was meant to be a playful question, but to her shock, Oliver’s expression fell. He looked… sad. And even more surprisingly, _ashamed_. “I told him the truth.”

She frowned worriedly. “What do you mean, the truth?”

“I told him why you and I won’t be having puppies,” he replied.

Diggle, sensing this was a rather private conversation, took his plate loaded up with chow mein, sweet and sour prawns and satay chicken and headed back into the living room to begin setting up the TV for the baseball game. He turned the volume up loud enough that Felicity and Oliver couldn’t be accidentally overheard and Felicity was never more grateful that the bodyguard was such a good friend, knowing exactly what the two of them needed.

“Okay,” she said patiently, slipping her hands down Oliver’s shoulders to take hold of his hands. “Why won’t you and I be having puppies in the future? Or - a baby. Because I can’t imagine we’d be having actual puppies. Or - oh god - I really hope not. Or do werewolves just always refer to their kids as pups?”

The wolf’s gaze was intense and concerned. Oliver didn’t seem at all amused by her case in foot-in-mouth as he usually was. It only made Felicity feel more anxious. “Do you _want_ pups in the future?”

She was taken back for a moment. “Does that matter now?”

“It does if you want to know what I told Fenrir to get him to back off.”

“I mean,” she shook her head. “I wouldn’t be completely opposed to having a baby, if we ever decided to go that route.”

If possible, Oliver looked even _more_ ashamed. Her statement had upset him even more. “We won’t be having pups in the future because I _can’t_ give you pups, Felicity.”

She blinked at him as she tried to understand what he was saying. “You mean you don’t want them?”

The wolf huffed, frustrated and distressed. “No. I want pups. I want Mini Olivers and Mini Felicitys. But the fact is that I _can’t give you pups_.”

“I don’t think I’m following,” Felicity said, her brow furrowing.

“You’re seriously not making this any easier for me to admit, Felicity,” Oliver laughed bitterly.

“Admit _what!?_ ”

“I’m infertile, alright?” he growled, his hands vices around her wrists. Felicity froze, a lump in her throat as she stared directly into the wolf’s eyes, which were now filled with angry tears. “I can’t give you pups because I’m infertile. When I was injected with Mirakuru on the island by Ivo to test how it would affect lycanthropes - it was burnt out of my system but there was one lasting side effect, and that was infertility. Combined with all the torture and electrocution that have basically wrecked my boy...” His gaze flickered to the floor. “I - I understand this might be a deal-breaker for our relationship, but please spare me from a break-up tonight.”

Felicity was stunned. And - devastated. Not because of what Oliver’s truth meant, that they would never be able to have kids together, but because the wolf seemed to think that she wouldn’t want to be with him over the fact that he couldn’t have biological children with her due to torture and experimentation he’d suffered through on the island.

“Oliver, I’m not going to break up with you. You think I care that you’re infertile? Yeah, I'm upset, more so because of all the horrors you went through that resulted in it, and maybe I’m a little sad that there won’t be any biological Mini Olivers or Mini Felicitys, but we can always adopt if we want to. It’s not the end of the world.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” the wolf muttered.

“But Oliver -”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now,” he interrupted her. “Can we just… go and watch the baseball game with Diggle and enjoy tonight? Please?”

Felicity bit her lip, wanting to discuss this more but not wanting to press him to talk about it if he was so obviously uncomfortable and distressed by the subject matter. Seeing the way the wolf was trying to edge back towards the living room to escape the situation, she decided to leave it be for the moment. “Alright,” she said quietly. “Let’s go.”

“Thank you.”

And then to her shock, he shifted into his wolf form and leaped up onto the cushions to join Diggle on the couch, tucking his head down beside his tail and next to the bodyguard’s leg. Diggle looked visibly surprised by this and exchanged a bewildered glance with Felicity. Frowning, she motioned for Diggle to try touching him; usually, Oliver hated it when somebody other than Felicity tried to touch him, but they’d figured out that the wolf would allow somebody else to touch him if he was having a dissociation episode. Very hesitantly, Diggle rested a hand on top of Oliver’s back. The wolf snorted and his ears flicked, but he didn’t growl.

Felicity carried Oliver and her plates of Chinese over to the coffee table, placing them down before squeezing in next to the wolf. Oliver instantly moved, twisting around so he could rest a paw and his head on her thigh. Re-appearing from the bedroom, Fenrir trotted over to curl up at the bodyguard’s feet, keeping a respectful distance from the wolf.

“The game’s starting,” Diggle told them, spooning a piece of satay chicken into his mouth.

Oliver gave a huff, which confused the two of them for a second, but then Fenrir rushed out of the bedroom; the wolf must have been calling for him. The Collie mix curled up at Diggle’s feet, beginning to chew on his shoelaces happily. With the baseball game starting up and the two teams being introduced onto the field, they focused on the TV screen rather than each other, but Felicity couldn’t stop thinking about the events of the evening so far.

The night had... taken a turn. She’d started off being slightly concerned about Fenrir and Oliver meeting, but now was anxious about her boyfriend and the state of their relationship. She knew that the fact Oliver thought that his fertility issues and that they couldn’t have biological kids together would end their partnership, was going to keep her awake all night. It seemed more like a personal issue that Oliver was struggling to accept and get over, since she’d voiced her opinion that she didn’t want to end their relationship because of it, and he hadn’t believed her. To her, it sounded as if the wolf thought that they were soon going to split, which Felicity was distraught about. She wanted to help him, but also at the back of her mind was a small, nagging voice that this wasn’t something she could fix easily. This was a major insecurity that Oliver was always going to have about himself, and about the two of them.

Together, they’d survived all the other trials and tribulations thrown at them thus far… she just desperately hoped that she and Oliver could get through this without breaking up.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed xx
> 
> tumblr: @alexiablackbriar13  
> twitter: @lexiblackbriar


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